Gamma
by shadowfire125
Summary: Ben Cop AU. Ben learns that not all is as it seems, and Lord Business has him make a hard decision.
1. Chapter 1

_Based on penumbraphantasm's amazing Ben Cop AU. This might make more sense if you go check out this post (/post/84305916026/i-noticed-songs-like-the-chase-and-the-final) on their Tumblr._

_Update: I'm considering writing a 2nd chapter from GCBC's pov y/n_

* * *

Ben hung back uncertainly as Lord Business towered over GCBC and berated him over letting the Special get away. Sure, GCBC had been the one leading the mission but… was this really necessary? Ben had been there too, and yet since entering the office, Business had barely even spared him a look. He was grateful to escape the overlord's wrath, but it left a knot of uneasiness in his stomach. It was too good to be true. The other shoe was going to drop any minute now. And it hurt to see his partner practically bending over backwards to appease their boss.

The knot tightened when a metallic, evil-looking nozzle descended from the ceiling and slithered towards GCBC. Ben made to move forward, to intervene, but then Business gave him a look so full of vehemence it stopped him in his tracks. He swallowed.

"Sir," Bad Cop said, leaning away from the nozzle as it closed in on him. "I don't know that this is necessary."

"Oh, don't worry," Lord Business said casually. "I won't test it on you." Ben felt a momentary spark of hope, but it was crushed as Business' tone turned ugly. "I'll do it on your _parents_."

Both Ben and GCBC gaped as suddenly a small cottage with a green yard slid up out of the floor. Standing in front was an elderly couple that Ben recognized from photos that Good Cop fondly shared with him on occasion.

"Mummy, Daddy," Bad Cop said, taking a step forward. "What are you doing here?"

The uncharacteristic vulnerability in Bad Cop's voice sent a twinge of something through Ben's chest, and as Business tried to direct the couple into posing together, his unease grew and grew. He watched with increasing horror as the scene played out before him, as Ma and Pa Cop were Kragled where they stood.

Business leaned over to hiss into Bad Cop's ear. "Does that upset you, Bad Cop? _Surely_, you feel bad for your parents. And you wanna help them, _don't_ you?"

Bad Cop looked as if he couldn't breathe. He glanced over at Ben, as if looking for some reassurance or rescue, but Ben was unable to provide either. All he could do was stand uselessly by and watch his partner have his life ripped apart in front of him.

"Go ahead," Lord Business was saying. "Finish the job."

Bad Cop steeled himself and saluted. "Of course, sir." But then Good Cop switched in. "No, I don't want to!" Bad Cop shoved him aside. "We have to." They spun in circles, battling each other. "I don't _want_ to! Would you _please_ be quiet? I can't! You _must_. But they- Shut it! It's not nice. _It's your JOB, man_!" And then, at last, Good Cop won. "I can't do it," he said, looking up at Lord Business pleadingly. "They're innocent!"

Business rounded on him. "Just as I thought! Your Good Cop side is making you soft, Bad Cop. Robots! Bring me the Fleece-Crested Scepter of Q-Teep and the Po-lish Remover of Na-eel."

The robot guards hurried forward with the requested items, but before they could hand them over, Lord Business held up his hand. "Wait," he said, fixing his gaze on Ben. "Let's give Ben a little spotlight."

_Ah_, Ben thought distantly as the Scepter was placed in his hand. _There's the other shoe_.

"Here's the thing, Ben," Business said, strolling over as two robots grabbed GCBC by the arms to hold him in place. "I don't need a cop who can't make up his own mind – or minds, I suppose. I need a cop who has drive and purpose. A cop I can trust to make decisions. A cop like _you_."

Ben's throat bobbed as Lord Business circled him, towering above him on those stilts.

"What you have to do now," Business continued, "is show me that you really _are_ that cop. So I need you to do me a teensy little favor."

"Sir?" Ben said, trying to keep his voice from shaking. Had Business added a few layers to his boots or had they always been this ominously tall?

"Oh, it's nothing major," Lord Business said flippantly. "All I need you to do… is _remove_ Good Cop from the picture."

Ben felt like his head was spinning. "Sir, I… I'm not sure what you-" He was suddenly very aware of the weight of the Scepter in his hands and the tall bottle of clear fluid the robots had put down beside him. Good Cop was watching him with wide eyes, his breathing shallow and panicked. Ben shook his head. "No. No, I can't. He's my partner. He's my _friend_. I-"

"Oh, Ben, my dear boy," Business sighed. "I'm afraid you don't have the whole picture here. It wasn't the Master Builders who caused your accident."

Ben heard a sharp intake of breath from Good Cop. "Sir, please, don't!"

Business glanced over at the cop as he struggled against the robots. "You only brought this on yourself," he said, then turned back to Ben. "It was caused by the very men you are now attempting to defend."

Suddenly everything felt very distant. He looked to Good Cop. "Is that… is that true? Did you guys crash me?"

Good Cop couldn't meet his eyes, and that was all the answer he needed.

"But…" Ben croaked. "Why?"

Good Cop looked about to speak, but Business interrupted. "Before you lost your memories, you were my number one. You were the best! They were jealous that you were such a great officer, they couldn't bear the thought of being second best. They tried to get rid of you, but as you can tell, they failed."

"No!" Good Cop shouted. "That's not-"

Business snapped his fingers, and one of the robots holding Good Cop clamped its hand over his mouth. "When you survived, and it turned out you couldn't remember a thing, they came to me and begged me not to tell you the truth. I'm a bleeding heart, Ben. I gave them a second chance, but _you_… Don't you think some _payback _is long overdue?"

Ben put a hand to his head. "I… I don't know… it's so hard to believe…"

"Of course, Ben," Business said, oozing sympathy. "There's no need to take just my word for it. Unfortunately for your so-called _friend_, we caught the whole thing on tape. Computer!"

The monitor on the wall flickered on. "_Yes, sir_?"

"Pull up surveillance footage gamma-five-oh-five, would you?"

"_Right away, sir._"

A static image appeared of a spaceship Ben found strangely familiar, and he realized with a jolt that it strongly resembled the tiny models he was constantly making. That was his ship. That was _him._

"Play," said Lord Business.

The ship took off across the screen, racing so fast that the stars in the background became long dashes of light. Then another ship came into sight, hot on Ben's tail, and he recognized it as GCBC's vehicle. And it was _firing_ at him. GCBC was trying to shoot him down. They were trying to _kill_ him.

He wanted to look over at where Good Cop was being held, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the screen as past him desperately tried to evade the cops. Then a laser clipped his wing and he lost control, going into a tailspin. GCBC dove after him as he spiraled wildly downwards, pulling up short just as Ben crashed into the ground. They slowly hovered over the wreckage before touching down next to it. The door opened, and Bad Cop stepped out. He picked his way over to the mess of the cockpit and pulled out a figure in a blue space suit. The yellow-tinted visor was smashed, and though Ben couldn't see the details at this distance, he knew that some of the shattered pieces had cut into his face. Dazedly, he reached up to touch his own intact visor.

Onscreen, Bad Cop dragged past-Ben clear of the wreckage and dumped him unceremoniously on the ground. The cop reached for the holster at his hip, and Ben's breath caught in his throat, but before Bad Cop could draw his gun, more patrol ships dropped into view, surrounding the wreckage.

The video stopped, frozen on that last image.

He stared at the screen in shock, and Lord Business leaned over to place his hand on Ben's shoulder. "I'm sorry I had to show this to you," Business said. "But I think it's high time you learned the truth. Today isn't the first time they've betrayed my trust." Gently, he took the Scepter from Ben's loose grip and dipped one cottony end into the Po-lish Remover. "And after all that's happened," he continued, handing it back to Ben, "you should be the one who delivers justice."

Ben tightened his grip on the Scepter as he stared at the picture before him – Bad Cop looming over Ben's crumpled form, surrounded by a squad of patrol ships. Anger chilled his spine, and he slowly turned to face Good Cop. "Wow," he said with eerie calm. "How about that."

Good Cop was furiously shaking his head, but one of his robot captors still had its hand clamped over his mouth. He struggled to free himself as Ben advanced on him, casually twirling the Scepter.

Ben stopped a few feet away and tapped the dry end of the Scepter on the ground. He contemplated Good Cop for a moment, then let out a harsh bark of laughter. "Dude, all this time… you were _jealous_? I thought you were just testing me in the beginning, tough love kinda stuff, you know? But really you were trying to trip me up this whole time!"

Somehow, Good Cop managed to wrench his head free and pleaded, "Ben, it's not what you think!"

"Not what I think?" Ben said, going perfectly still. "I don't need to _think_ anything, man, 'cause it sure looks like you were trying to kill me."

Good Cop wasn't able to say anything to that, and Bad Cop spun in. "You don't have to do this," he said.

Ben felt cold. "Oh," he said, leveling the Scepter at him, "but I want to."

The robots spun Good Cop back in and held him there. "Ben-" he gasped, but it was too late. Ben rubbed the tip of the Scepter over Good Cop's face, smearing and finally erasing it. Once he was done, he stepped back and dropped the Scepter. The robots released Bad Cop, who collapsed to the floor. As if through a great distance, Ben heard Ma and Pa Cop call out to their son. His head was buzzing and his anger had drained away, leaving behind something heavy and leaden in the pit of his stomach. Lord Business was continuing his rant, but none of what he was saying sounded like real words to Ben. He just watch Bad Cop as he picked himself up off the floor and took the remote that controlled the nozzle. There was a grimness to his expression that Ben had never seen before, and the weight in his stomach got heavier, became a molten mess of anger and helplessness and other emotions he didn't want to think about right then.

"Sorry," Bad Cop growled at his parents. "But I have a job to do."

Ben squeezed his eyes shut.


	2. Chapter 2

_oops i wrote a second chapter_

* * *

GCBC was used to taking the brunt of Lord Business' anger, but something this time was different. There was a new level of menace behind the threats, and they couldn't shake the feeling that something _really_ bad was going to happen. Sure, the Special had gotten away with the Piece of Resistance, but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle. At least Ben didn't seem to be in any danger.

But Bad Cop knew for sure _they_ were in danger when he found himself staring down the wrong end of a fully weaponized Kragle. He leaned away, and the clawed nozzle moved with him. "Sir," he said. "I don't know that this is necessary."

"Oh, don't worry," Business said, far too casually for comfort. "I won't test it on you." He turned away and snarled, "I'll do it on your _parents_."

Bad Cop felt as though a bucket of ice water had been dumped over him as his home, complete with his parents standing in the front yard, popped up from under the floor.

"Hiya, son," his dad greeted him cheerfully. "How's it goin' in the big city?"

Bad Cop took a hesitant step forward. "Mummy, Daddy… what are you doing here?"

Any response they might have made was cut short by Lord Business, who attempted to get them to pose as if for a picture. Bad Cop knew from experience it was a futile attempt – trying to take a photo with them was like herding cats, and he felt a stab of pain in his chest at the frustrating but fond memories. Business had little patience for anything, let alone a scatterbrained elderly couple, and called in the micromanagers after a few short moments. Bad Cop couldn't do anything but watch as his parents' feet were Kragled to the ground.

Business was suddenly beside him, tone almost jeering. "Does that upset you, Bad Cop?_ Surely_, you feel bad for your parents. And you wanna help them, _don't_ you?"

Bad Cop felt as if the walls were closing in on him, and Good Cop's panic at the back of his mind was seeping through him. He looked over at Ben, but his partner was just standing there as if in a daze.

"Go ahead," Lord Business sneered, snapping back Bad Cop's attention. "Finish the job."

Bad Cop fixed his gaze straight ahead, trying not to think or feel, and saluted. "Of course, sir."

But Good Cop wasn't having any of that, and they struggled with each other for control, spinning around and around. Good Cop's resolve was stronger, and he took the lead. "I can't do it," he said, looking up at Lord Business. "They're innocent!"

Business towered over him. "Just as I thought," he snarled. "Your Good Cop side is making you soft, Bad Cop."

Good Cop swallowed. Business had always considered him an unfortunate add-on to Bad Cop, never as the wholly individual person that he was. They were two sides of the same coin with their own unique patterns, but to Lord Business, Good Cop was just a weird sticker on Bad Cop's back. Often this meant Bad Cop had to bend over backwards defending his other half, but Good Cop had a feeling that this might be the end somehow.

"Robots!" Lord Business shouted. "Bring me the Fleece-Crested Scepter of Q-Teep and the Po-lish Remover of Na-eel."

The two relics were quickly presented, but Lord Business held up a hand and fixed his gaze on something beyond Good Cop. "Wait," he said. "Let's give Ben a little spotlight."

Good Cop jolted. He'd forgotten that Ben was even there. A pair of robots pinned his arms to his sides as he watched another robot hand the Scepter to Ben. Lord Business circled Ben ominously, giving some speech about what kind of cops he needed. Though it was impossible to see Ben's face through the visor, his body language was usually expressive enough, and he'd gone the kind of stiff that rabbits did when caught in the headlights.

"So I need you to do me a teensy little favor," Business said.

"Sir?" Ben asked, and Good Cop heard a tiny quaver in his voice.

"Oh, it's nothing major," Lord Business said in the kind of way that implied 'major' was exactly what it was going to be. "All I need you to do… is _remove_ Good Cop from the picture."

Good Cop felt his blood freeze in veins, and Ben's head was tilted up at Business uncomprehendingly. "Sir, I… I'm not sure what you-" he began, then stopped. There was a short moment, then he looked over at where Good Cop was struggling not to hyperventilate, and he seemed to go a little weak at the knees. "No. No, I can't. He's my partner. He's my _friend_. I-"

"Oh, Ben, my dear boy," Business interrupted with a pitying sigh. "I'm afraid you don't have the whole picture here. It wasn't the Master Builders who caused your accident."

Oh. Oh no. They had always known that they couldn't hide the truth forever. Eventually, it would come out. Bad Cop was more pragmatic about it (what happens, happens), but Good Cop would sometimes lie awake at night with guilt tight in his throat and think of all the ways it could play out until Bad Cop yelled at him to just _go the brick to sleep_. But of all the ways Ben could find out, this was one of the worst. "Sir," Good Cop practically begged. "Please, don't!"

Business gave him a disdainful look. "You only brought this on yourself." He returned his attention to Ben and said, "It was caused by the very men you are now attempting to defend."

Ben sounded very far away as he looked at Good Cop and asked, "Is that… is that true? Did you guys crash me?"

Good Cop wished he could say no, but he couldn't even look at Ben.

His silence was an answer on its own. "But…" Ben said, his voice hoarse. "Why?"

Good Cop opened his mouth, ready to tell him everything, but Lord Business beat him to the punch. "Before you lost your memories, you were my number one. You were the best! They were jealous that you were such a great officer, they couldn't bear the thought of being second best. They tried to get rid of you, but as you can tell, they failed."

"No!" Good Cop shouted, panic welling up in his throat. "That's not-"

Business snapped his fingers, and a robot clamped its hand over Good Cop's mouth. Even though it still gave him room to breathe, he felt like he was suffocating. And Lord Business was still talking, the lies falling out of his mouth one after the other, and Good Cop could _see_ them worming their way into Ben like termites chewing away at the framework of his world.

"Of course, Ben," Business said, his tone sickly sweet. "There's no need to take just my word for it. Unfortunately for your so-called _friend_, we caught the whole thing on tape. Computer!"

The monitor on the wall flickered on. "_Yes, sir?_"

"Pull up surveillance footage gamma-five-oh-five, would you?"

"_Right away, sir._"

Ben's old spaceship appeared, suspended in space.

"Play," said Lord Business, the word ringing in Good Cop's ears like a funeral bell.

And the chase was on. Bad Cop had been doing the flying, so Good Cop couldn't recognize the visuals, but he could remember his other half's emotions. The thrill of the hunt, triumph at shooting down the ship. He winced at how carelessly they'd treated Ben's unconscious form, and was glad he couldn't see Ben's face from here. Just knowing what the scars left behind looked like was bad enough.

The video ended on Bad Cop reaching for his radio, right at a point where his hand was just above his weapon holster, and suddenly Good Cop felt sick. Ben had no way of knowing that. To him, it must look like Bad Cop had been going for his gun.

Lord Business leaned over to place a falsely comforting hand on Ben's shoulder. "I'm sorry I had to show this to you, but I think it's high time you learned the truth," he said, and Good Cop felt a swell of anger. _Truth_. Right. "Today isn't the first time they've betrayed my trust," he continued as he took the Scepter from Ben and dipped it in the Po-lish Remover. "And after all that's happened, you should be the one to deliver justice." To punctuate this, he put the Scepter back in Ben's hands.

There was a brief, breathless moment, and then something in Ben's posture changed. There always seemed to be something lackadaisical about him, even in his more sinister moments, but this was almost… predatory. At that moment, Ben was well and truly _dangerous_, as he never had been before. "Wow," he said, turning to face Good Cop like the calm before the storm. "How about that."

Good Cop shook his head desperately. He needed to tell Ben the truth, the _real_ truth, before it was too late, before something irrevocable happened.

Ben approached him, almost languidly, and came to a stop a few feet away from where Good Cop was struggling against his captors. Good Cop nearly had a heart attack as Ben let out a sudden, harsh sound that took a few seconds to register as a laugh. "Dude, all this time… you were _jealous_? I thought you were just testing me in the beginning, tough love kinda stuff, you know? But really you were trying to trip me up this whole time!"

They _had_ been trying to trip him up at the start – Good Cop couldn't deny that. But Ben had proved himself over and over again, and they'd become more invested in seeing what he _could_ do than what he couldn't. With a new spurt of energy, he managed to yank his face away from the robot's hand. "Ben, it's not what you think-"

"Not what I think?" Ben said, going perfectly still. "I don't need to _think_ anything, man, 'cause it sure looks like you were trying to kill me."

There wasn't anything Good Cop could say to that. They hadn't been trying to kill him _exactly_, but they wouldn't have been too torn up if they had. Good Cop couldn't deal with this anymore. It was too much. He shrunk away, practically _pushing_ Bad Cop to the front.

It only took a few brief moments for Bad Cop to assess the situation. Ben, standing before them and holding a weapon of unknown ability, his faith and trust in the pair bleeding out faster than an arterial wound, obviously about to make a decision that would change everything. "You don't have to do this," Bad Cop said.

It was a futile attempt. Ben was already over the edge. He pointed the damp end of the Scepter at Bad Cop. "Oh," he said, icicles hanging on the words, "but I want to."

Everything blurred unexpectedly as Good Cop was forced back into position. All he could see was the end of the Scepter closing in on his face and, just beyond, Ben's tinted yellow visor reflecting the overhead lights. "Ben-" he gasped, and then there was pain, searing pain, like hot coals were being raked across his face, and then-

Bad Cop felt his body hit the floor. He could still feel Good Cop's pain and fear, but it was just an echo now, fading away. Then it was gone, and all that was left was a black void where his other half used to be. For the first time ever, he was really, actually _alone_. There was no more warm and comforting presence at the back of his mind, always ready to remind him of the good in the world. No one there to pat his hackles back down.

"Are you gonna be with me?" Business was shouting. "Or are you gonna be stuck having a tea party with your mom and dad?"

No one there to stop him from going too far.

Slowly, Bad Cop picked himself up off the floor and took the remote.

"Son?" his dad asked hesitantly.

Bad Cop felt hollowed out. Good was gone, probably forever. For a moment, Bad Cop wondered if Good Cop had been the lucky one, because he didn't have to deal with the aftermath. He didn't have to live with his whole existence suddenly shaved in half.

But Bad Cop was nothing if not practical. There really was only one option left.

"Sorry, Dad," he said. "But I have a job to do."


End file.
